Yankees’ Aaron Judge ties Mickey Mantle with third walk-off home run of season against Royals

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge delivered his third walk-off home run of the season on Thursday night to give New York a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Royals. Judge’s home run doubled as his majors-leading 39th of the campaign.

Judge’s home run came with one out in the bottom of the ninth against Royals closer Scott Barlow. According to Statcast, the blast left the bat traveling at 109.6 mph and carried a projected 431 feet. Here’s a look at the home run in all its moving picture glory:

Judge’s three walk-off home runs tie him with Mickey Mantle (1959) for the most in Yankees franchise history, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs research. Tommy Henrich also delivered three in 1949 if the scope is expanded to include the postseason. It should be noted that Judge has the third-most home runs in Yankees franchise history by August 1. Here’s the top five, courtesy of MLB Network:

• Babe Ruth, 41, 1928
• Roger Maris, 40, 1961
• Aaron Judge, 39, 2022
• Mickey Mantle, 39, 1961
• Babe Ruth, 38, 1921

Judge entered Thursday with 38 home runs, seven more than Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber. No other big-league hitter had as many as 30 home runs. (Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros was in third place with 29.) Judge’s home run on Thursday tied his 2021 season total, and he did so in more than 50 fewer games. His career-best remains the 52 he hit in 2017, his rookie season.

The Royals, for their part, can at least find solace in the performance of starter Brady Singer. He struck out 10 batters over seven shutout innings, surrendering one hit and one walk over the course of 99 pitches. Singer has now recorded a quality start in four consecutive outings and has lowered his ERA to 3.51.